After pondering for a moment, he slowly spoke, voicing the concern on his mind.
"You're a very understanding human lad."
"But I've always been a free spirit. If I join your territory, will there be any booze?"
Hearing the dwarf drunkard say that,
a sly smile appeared on Zong Shen's face.
"Booze?"
"What do you think of this jar I've got here?"
With a flip of his hand, Zong Shen took out the [Mellow Green Forest Fruit Wine] he had found in the Bronze Treasure Chest earlier.
It was a fine wine of green Fine Grade quality.
He pulled the stopper from the jar.
Then he held the little wine jar in front of the dwarf drunkard's nose and waved it around.
"Sniff..."
"This mellow aroma..."
"This fresh scent..."
"This is the Elf Race's fine Green Forest Fruit Wine!"
The dwarf, Copperbeard Winefire, was every bit the drunkard. Just from smelling it, he could tell what kind of wine Zong Shen had brought out.
"Good nose. As long as you agree to come back to my territory and swear allegiance to me, you'll have all the fine wine you can drink."
Zong Shen continued to coax him.
Between the psychological pressure and the promise of wine tailored to his tastes, the dwarf drunkard was practically putty in his hands.
Copperbeard Winefire smacked his lips, seemingly weighing whether he should agree.
Seeing this, Zong Shen pressed his advantage.
"Your legs are your own. If you're not happy with my territory, you can leave whenever you want."
Hearing Zong Shen say that,
Copperbeard Winefire finally nodded.
"Understanding lord, I, a member of the Bronzebeard Dwarf Tribe,"
"Copperbeard Winefire, swear my allegiance to you!"
Zong Shen beamed.
"Excellent, excellent! Welcome to our territory!"
Then he drew the [Germanic Sword] and cut through all the tightly wound Hemp Rope.
Copperbeard Winefire nimbly dropped to the ground. Without bothering to put back on the light armor and gear Zong Shen had stripped off him, he eagerly took the [Mellow Green Forest Fruit Wine] from Zong Shen's hand.
He tilted back his thick neck and started gulping it down.
He took a big swig to sate his craving for alcohol.
Only then did he carefully put the stopper back in and start putting on his gear.
Clutching the wine jar, he leisurely followed behind Zong Shen.
"Lord, please take me back to your territory."
With fine wine in hand, Copperbeard Winefire seemed quite satisfied with the arrangement.
Zong Shen was satisfied too. Where else could he find an advanced blacksmith who'd be utterly loyal as long as he provided booze?
After Copperbeard Winefire swore allegiance,
Zong Shen could now view some of his information.
[Dwarf Warrior: Copperbeard Winefire]
[Potential: Rare]
[Level: lv47]
[Attributes: (Cannot view due to excessive level difference)]
[Hunger: 73]
[Loyalty: 65]
Zong Shen still couldn't view his detailed attributes.
But his purple Rare Grade potential and level of lv47 were more than enough to show that his combat abilities were far more reliable than his drunken appearance suggested.
At least his loyalty was decent: 65 points.
That was lower than Tasia's, but higher than the farmers rescued from the Bandit Camp.
As long as Zong Shen raised him well and got him plenty of good wine, he could steadily build up his loyalty.
This guy could serve as a blacksmith, and he was also a dwarf warrior with high level and potential.
Zong Shen smiled with satisfaction, mounted the Old Travel Horse, and waved at Copperbeard Winefire and Tie Zhu.
"Let's go. We'll head back to the territory first."
He gave the horse a light squeeze and trotted toward camp.
The dwarf and Tie Zhu followed behind him, moving almost as fast as the Old Travel Horse.
Zong Shen began looking through the spoils he hadn't had time to inspect properly in the dungeon.
He set aside the copper, iron, and Mithril for the moment. There were quite a few blueprints alone.
[Tier 2 Dwelling Construction Blueprint]
[Quality: Common Human Building]
[Requirements: Wood ×30, Stone ×15, Iron ×8, Hemp Rope ×3]
[Area: 20 square meters]
[Durability: 300]
[Building Armor: 5]
[Provides a basic shelter from the wind and rain, slowly restoring health]
(Health restored per hour: 1.5)
[Capacity: 6 people]
[Construction Time: 1h12m]
Zong Shen tapped the blueprint, and it turned into a ray of white light that he absorbed.
[Primary Farmland Construction Blueprint (10×10)]
[Quality: Common]
[Complete Building. No materials required. Choose an area to place it.]
[Construction Time: 4m]
[Area: 100 square meters]
[A plot of Primary Farmland that can shorten crop growth time by 30%]
This was a complete building blueprint, requiring no resources, much like the Moon Well. Convenient and effortless.
[Tavern Construction Blueprint]
[Quality: Excellent]
[Requirements: Wood ×100, Stone ×80, Iron ×35, Copper ×20, Primary Elemental Crystal ×5, Primary Water Rune ×1]
[Area: 160 square meters]
[Durability: 1500]
[Building Armor: 30]
[A tavern is a good place to drink and unwind. It needs a supply of drinks and a bartender to operate. This building can expand the territory's influence, with a chance of attracting powerful soldiers or heroes.]
[Construction Time: 6h24m]
A rare Excellent Grade Tavern blueprint. Zong Shen learned it right away, saving a Storage Grid.
Without a steady supply of drinks, a tavern wouldn't be much use.
He still had some [Crafted Rum], but it probably wouldn't be enough even for Copperbeard Winefire, a seasoned drunkard.
He'd have to wait until he had a stable source of alcohol before building one.
[Cellar Construction Blueprint]
[Quality: Common]
[Requirements: Wood ×50, Iron ×20, Stone ×50]
[Underground Space: 27 cubic meters]
[Durability: 1000]
[Building Armor: 10]
[Digging out a cellar can provide an emergency shelter and a place to store drinks or other supplies.]
An unremarkable cellar. Perhaps he could build a few later to use as emergency shelters or wine cellars.
[Obtained Tier 1 Territory Technology Research Institute Construction Blueprint]
[Quality: Common]
[Requirements: Wood ×40, Stone ×20, Iron ×10, Mithril ×2]
[Area: 20 square meters]
[Durability: 600]
[Building Armor: 12]
[A Tier 1 territory research building. Once constructed, it can use a certain amount of resources to research various Tier 1 territory technologies.]
[Construction Time: 2h24m]
"Territory technologies are already a thing?"
Zong Shen marveled. He tapped the blueprint, learning it right away.
He also added it to his urgent construction list.
[Obtained Level 2 City Lord Mansion Upgrade Voucher]
[After completing the territory expansion quest, you can use this voucher to upgrade the City Lord's Mansion to Level 2 (the Level 1 City Lord Mansion must be repaired first)]
Besides the building blueprints, he'd also obtained various materials from monsters.
But he planned to wait until he was back at the territory and had built a Blacksmith Shop, then hand them all over to Dwarf Uncle.
For now, he began checking some of the other items.
Before you continue